Cardio workouts improve circulation and endurance. This could include going on a run, biking at a high resistance, or doing an increased speed on a stair crunching machine. You want to work up a sweat and get your blood pumping. Good cardiovascular health is not only good for heart health and blood pressure, it has even been linked to a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.[3] Doing interval training (i.e. alternating between low-intensity and high-intensity activity) has been shown to be an especially fast and effective way to improve heart health and endurance, and an efficient way to burn fat.[4]
All meals are important, but breakfast is what helps you start your day on the right track. The best, heartiest breakfasts are ones that will fill you up, keep you satisfied, and stave off cravings later in the day. Aim to eat anywhere between 400 and 500 calories for your morning meal, and make sure you're including a source of lean protein plus filling fat (e.g., eggs, beans, unsweetened Greek yogurt, nuts, or nut butters) and fiber (veggies, fruit, or 100% whole grains). Starting your day with a blood sugar-stabilizing blend of nutrients will help you slim down without sacrifice.
Instead of subjecting yourself to another endless workout, crank up the intensity and you’ll see results faster than you ever thought possible. The results of a study conducted at McMaster University in Ontario reveal that adult male study subjects who exercised intensely for a single minute had equivalent respiratory and metabolic changes to those who worked out at a slower pace for close to an hour, so if you want to burn through that belly fat, say so long to slow and steady.
Too little sleep or too much sleep can throw your stress and regulatory hormones out of whack, and may lead to weight gain. A single night of sleep deprivation can increase levels of ghrelin (a hormone that promotes hunger), making you more likely to overeat the next day. Reduced sleep may also lead to fatigue during the day (duh) and less physical activity, which may be another reason why people who regularly don't get enough sleep tend to gain weight.
Very low levels of thyroid hormone usually indicate an autoimmune reaction to the thyroid gland itself. This means you’ll have to take thyroid hormone supplements orally, usually the stable form T4 (Levaxin), which your doctor can prescribe for you. Your body will transform this into the active T3 hormone when necessary. The supplement dose should be adjusted so that you reach normal hormone levels (TSH, T3, T4) and sufficiently alleviate symptoms – though a few people feel best when keeping TSH slightly below normal.
Tight deadlines, bills, your kids—whatever your source of stress, having too much of it may make it harder for you to drop unwanted pounds, especially from your middle. And it's not just because you tend to reach for high-fat, high-calorie fare when you're stressed, though that's part of it. It's also due to the stress hormone cortisol, which may increase the amount of fat your body clings to and enlarge your fat cells. Higher levels of cortisol have been linked to more visceral fat.
The Nike Run Club app, however, is the star of the show. Each Nike watchface has dedicated complications for launching the app and a tally of your last run (or a guilty nag if you haven't hit the pavement for a while). Once you're in the NRC app, it's a simple thing to start a run or download one of the guided runs (including the ever-expanding library of Run with Headspace workouts, my favorites).
And lastly have a light dinner, you are about to go to bed, you don’t need a big burger (seriously, have that at lunch instead!) you would benefit from a light, veggie heavy meal that will keep you full and satisfied, a goal of 300-400 calories is best at night. Plus your body processing all those good for your veggies at night will keep your metabolism up while you sleep and help reset your cravings for the next day. Eat good tonight and you’ll be more likely to eat healthier all day tomorrow.
Now, instead of just nagging you to close rings, your Series 4 will keep an eye on when your heart rate spikes and your motion is consistent with working out. Recently, when I thought I started my Nike Run Club run, the Apple Workout app buzzed me a quarter mile in, asking me if I was running. When I confirmed, it filled in the first part of my run and activated to log the rest. As someone who's always grumbling that if a run isn't recorded it didn't happen, that interaction was nothing short of revelatory.
“Extreme diets where you're cutting out entire food groups like carbs should be monitored by a doctor or a professional,” says Cara Clark, a certified clinical and sports nutritionist in Orange County, Calif. “This is not usually good for most people. My favorite thing to tell them is if you're cutting carbs to lose weight, expect to be tired and dumb. Our brains thrive with using carbs as fuel. They are essential to our health.”
It’s impossible to target belly fat specifically when you diet. But losing weight overall will help shrink your waistline; more importantly, it will help reduce the dangerous layer of visceral fat, a type of fat within the abdominal cavity that you can’t see but that heightens health risks, says Kerry Stewart, Ed.D., director of Clinical and Research Physiology at Johns Hopkins.
Stavrou, S., Nicolaides, N. C., Papageorgiou, I., Papadopoulou, P., Terzioglou, E., Chrousos, G. P., … Charmandari, E. (2016, July 31). The effectiveness of a stress-management intervention program in the management of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Molecular Biochemistry, 5(2), 63–70. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4996635/
LoseWeightByEating.com is committed to providing information on natural and alternative health, but is not written by health care professionals. All material provided at LoseWeightByEating.com is for informational purposes only, and is not to be taken as medical advice or recommendation. Any health concern or condition should be addressed by a doctor or other appropriate health care professional. The information and opinions found on this website are written based on the best data available at the time of writing, and are believed to be accurate according to the best discernment of the authors. Those who do not seek council from the appropriate health care authority assume the liability of any injury which may occur. Additionally, the opinions expressed at LoseWeightByEating.com do not represent the views of each and every author or contributor to LoseWeightByEating.com. The publisher of this site is not responsible for any errors or omissions in any content herein.
Young Gourmet is a new cooking experience created by the Family Resource Network’s Get FIT program and the Center on Nutrition and Disability, with funding from the Toms River Elks. With a focus on healthy eating and wellness, all sessions are taught by a Get FIT Nutritionist (ServSafe certified). For more information and to register please contact Deb O’chat at 732-262-8020 or via email. View flyer